Staphylococcus aureus causes skin infections, pneumonia, bloodstream infections and surgical infections being the most common type of infections in hospitals and nursing homes. Staphylococcus aureus is often spread through bacteria remaining on the skin of an infected person or in his bodily fluids.

People often touched various surfaces in crowded places, such as hospitals, vehicles and public buildings, and this may contribute to the spread of S. aureus. Bacteria are deposited on a surface and are transmitted to humans when touched, then people carry this bacteria to other surfaces, which can lead to a large number of infections. New research has shown that the use of surfaces containing copper ions and reactive oxygen species, can help fight the spread of harmful bacteria.

According to the data, while the S. aureus bacteria can remain alive for long periods of time on normal surfaces, such as stainless steel, they will die on the surfaces of copper alloy. The presence of copper causes damage to the DNA of bacteria, causing irreversible cell death. It has been found that the copper surfaces kill bacteria Staphylococcus aureus for 15 minutes, while the surface of the brass destroy the infection for 20 minutes.

According to experts, copper is not only kills bacterial and viral pathogens, but quickly destroys their genetic material. This bacteria has no chance to mutate and pass their genetic material to other microbes. In other words, it helps to prevent the reproduction of the next generation of superbugs.